I was just asked how one should deal with the story of the Levite cutting up his gang-raped concubine in Judges 19. Here is my short answer. The ending chapters of Judges function at several levels:1) historical context for the audience who received these stories in this form (the accounts refer to some time 1200-1100… Continue reading Judging Judges: The Cutting of the Concubine
I often hear complaints (and have offered my own) about movies not being like the book and just how much better the book was by comparison. This may be true enough, but perhaps what we are latently getting at suggests we simply do not understand how changing media automatically changes the message. I wrote the… Continue reading Changing Media Living Message
I was asked some time ago now if I considered myself a “theologian” or a “Bible scholar”. This was in a context (seminary) where there seemed to be a fair divide among students of each focus and I know it is that way in other institutions than just the one I found myself in. At… Continue reading Bible Scholar or Theologian? Yes
I recently bought the blue-ray edition of Ben-Hur (1959) and we had a family movie night last night enjoying it. One thing, however, kept coming up. Cambria (8) kept commenting how badly she wanted to see Jesus’ face. If you have ever watched the film you will know that you NEVER directly see his face… Continue reading I Can Almost See Jesus
Yes, you read that correctly. I am getting a tattoo. And, yes, I am still a pastor and Bible college faculty member. And I am not just getting any tattoo. The kind you are probably thinking that I am getting is so cliché…so 2013. And my tattoo will not be something covered by sleeves or… Continue reading I'm Getting a Tattoo
Last week in class we discussed 1 Corinthians 14.33-35. Talk about a controversial text. How does one properly interpret such a passage? I was asked by a number of friends if I might post my notes on this. Instead of posting notes, here are “points to ponder” in working toward a proper interpretation of this… Continue reading Let Women Remain Silent (or Not)
In Sunday School this week we covered the account of Noah in Genesis 6-9. And I was struck once again by the contrast between the ancient Near Eastern (ANE) accounts that parallel the Biblical Deluge/Noah account. In the ANE accounts the gods destroy mankind with a flood because of their “noise”* which the gods find… Continue reading Eating Your Theology (Gen.6-9)
Today was a tear-filled day as I announced my resignation to Karlstad Assembly of God effective the end of July. I have been asked to join the faculty of Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, ND as Assistant Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies. I will be teaching primarily Old Testament, but also hermeneutics (Biblical interpretation)… Continue reading Change Is Coming
I was struck by a re-reading of Exodus recently as I meditated on just what the overarching theology of Exodus might be. The Scripture that struck me most strongly was Exodus 4:22 (NET): Thus says the Lord, ‘Israel is my son, my firstborn…‘ In light of the wider book of the Exodus, one encounters a… Continue reading The Revelation of Yahweh in the Exodus: The Theological Center
“Literature is important for ethics because literature is as complicated as life itself, and cannot be decoded or boiled down. Ethical insight comes from reading it–first sequentially and then reflectively–not from trying to extract a ‘message’ from it.”* This is one of the primary problems I have witnessed in folks reading and preaching from the… Continue reading Literature for Ethics and Theology
